April 3 (Bloomberg) -- Sequencing the genomes of patients
to reveal what ailments might mar their futures isn’t the best
predictor for the most common diseases, according to a study
involving thousands of identical twins.

Researchers found that most people would get negative
results from having their genome sequenced for all but one of 24
identified conditions that includes heart disease, diabetes and
Alzheimer’s. While the process can help spot many rare genetic
disorders, it doesn’t appear to be a good predictor of who will
suffer from the majority of illnesses, the authors wrote.

The key to preventing illnesses remains early prevention
strategies, wrote Bert Vogelstein, a study author and professor
at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore. Eric
Topol, director of Scripps Translational Science Institute in La
Jolla, California, said the results show sequencing is still at
a very early stage.

“Before we abandon the importance of the DNA sequence,
let’s get more data from large populations,” Topol, who wasn’t
involved with the research, said in a telephone interview.
“This is a moving target, this is a dynamic field.” .

Once millions of people have had their genomes sequenced,
scientists may have a better idea about the likelihood of
developing any number of disparate diseases, Topol said.

The study was published in the journal Science
Translational Medicine. It didn’t sequence individuals. Instead,
researchers collected data from thousands of identical twins in
five countries and used a computer model to determine the
effectiveness of whole genome sequencing.

No Different Risk

The data suggested that the twins face no substantially
different risk of getting the common diseases than the general
public. They did find a difference with one disease:
Alzheimer’s. In that case, only 12 percent of those with
negative readings in their gene sequencing would be likely to
develop the condition, according to the study.

Translating an entire human genome required more than a
decade of research and billions of dollars by the government’s
Human Genome Project, which completed the first sequence in
2003.

Now, Oxford Nanopore Technologies Ltd. plans to sell a
genome sequencer the size of a USB memory stick for $900 by the
end of this year and companies including Life Technologies Corp.
and Illumina Inc. promise genomes sequenced in a day.